Patrick Starrr’s holiday collection for M·A·C is a Christmas miracle

DECK YOUR HALLS, AND THEN DECK YOUR VANITY WITH PATRICK STARRR’S NEW HOLIDAY COLLECTION FOR M·A·C. AS EXPECTED, IT’S MORE FESTIVE AND FABULOUS THAN ANY CHRISTMAS ALBUM.

Patrick Starrr is one of the biggest names in beautyland. With 4.1 million subscribers, the YouTube star and makeup artist has the power to coax Kim Kardashian onto his channel, and he’s already collaborated with M·A·C for five collections. The latest of which—a festive feast of colour and shimmer appropriately named Slay + Ride—has just landed at MECCA.

A true millennial, Starrr discovered his love of beauty through makeover shows like The Swan and Disney favourites like Cinderella. His first big break came as a regular artist at a M·A·C store in Orlando. “I went into that job like a sponge,” he told us. “I looked at M·A·C like I was Harry Potter walking into Hogwarts. Each of the artists were like professors. Professor Dumbledore over here, Professor Snape over there, all of them teaching certain makeup magic. I’d watch them and learn each of their specialities.”

This experience make his collections for M·A·C a real full-circle moment, particularly this new one. On a call from L.A. to Melbourne, Starrr told The Memo, “I wanted to be the beauty community Santa this year and provide all the children with the gift of glam!” Starrr added that the collection was a manifestation of how he sees Christmas, “Red, glitter, full-glam and shimmer!” The M·A·C team definitely nailed the brief: the collection is very wearable (for all the children), and the packaging is worthy of a Mariah Carey Christmas album cover. Next. Level. Sparkle. Here, Starrr shared his take on looking flawless through the festive season.

TM: What are you most excited about with this collection?PS: “So much. It’s the biggest collection I’ve come out with for M·A·C, and the huge news is that it features my Loose Powder. It was in my first collection and has been in demand every day since it sold out. Now it’s back!”

It’s your fifth collection for M·A·C. What has changed over that time?“When I started working on the collections, I knew that not everyone knew me. M·A·C’s distribution is so large, especially when it comes to international stores like MECCA. I knew there would be women who didn’t know who Patrick Starrr was. So, for my collections, I wanted to take something recognisable and make it my own and with this holiday collection, it’s all red and nostalgic, with that Patrick Starrr twist.”

What’s your favourite part of the creative process?“The whole process is amazing, but I get really, really excited when we’re doing the photoshoot. The campaign imagery is the first thing people see, it’s the first impression. This shoot was so fun. In every one of my campaign shoots, I have overseen every single outfit down to every last rhinestone. Everything was handpicked by me and I collaborated with the designer. The coat in this campaign was 18 metres of sequin appliques, nine metres of red fur (faux, of course)—it was a fantasy brought to life!”

We love your “makeup is one-size-fits-all” philosophy. How did you weave that message of equality into this collection?“I want everyone to wear sparkle. A few years ago, the rules said that mature women can’t wear glitter. You know, if you think about our generation, millennials, we’re all going to be wearing highlight, concealer, contour, and false lashes into our 70s. We’re going to be those grandmas and grandpas with a full face of makeup. So, I want to inspire those more mature women, and maybe those mature men, to embrace sparkle this season. That shows with the dazzleglasses,they’re shimmer, glitter and multipurpose for lips, eyes and face. You can make it work for you. Everyone deserves to be that star.”

Gender fluidity has really hit its stride in the beauty space this year. What is it like for you to be part of that and to see it unfold?“It is amazing. There is a self-confidence that’s being championed through makeup and I think it’s such beautiful thing. I also love that everyone from teens to those in their 50s and 60s are expressing themselves through makeup and that’s being validated by a huge company like M·A·C. Having their platform speaks volumes. M·A·C celebrates that idea of makeup is one-size-fits-all through their mantra all ages, all races, all sexes. And that’s been their philosophy since day one.”

Let’s talk products. What’s the Loose Powder all about?“Setting my face is something I’ve always been known for, and from the moment this dropped with my first collection it was such a hit. It’s so great to bring it back in a holiday collection. It’s a beautiful finishing set powder, it’s translucent, matte, and has a pinky undertone to it, but that doesn’t show, it just flatters the complexion. It’s perfect for all over the face and under the eyes. When I create a complexion product I want it to be both fashion and function, but particularly function. It allows makeup to be sweatproof, heavy duty but refined. And it’s a beautiful product visually. That’s the fashion part.”

How about the eye palettes, Oh Holy Eyes and Smoky Sleigh?“I used Oh Holy Eyes for my campaign look. It’s great for your mum, your grandma, your aunty, anyone who doesn’t like too much colour. It has four mattes and two glitters and contains my favourite transition colour for the crease, ‘She’s Gravy’. Smoky Sleigh is a bit more daredevil, still really flattering combinations, but more colour. It works so well with the dazzleglasses.”

What is the best way to use the dazzleglasses?“The dazzleglasses carry the most glitter in a gloss. I wore Ride My Sleigh, which has gold, purple and blue reflectors, in the campaign over the lipstick Sleigh Ride. It has a blue tint which deepens the lipstick colour and makes teeth look so much whiter.”